This invention relates generally to an adjustment system and more particularly to a member for adjusting a tool relative to a mounting body.
Powered grippers, clamps and gauges (collectively referenced herein as a gripper or tool) are typically secured to a floor mounted bracket, table, robotic arm or other mounting body by common dowel pins, roll pins or bolts. Conventional dowel pins have a circular-cylindrical exterior shape, a chamfered first end, a rounded second end and are entirely solid. These dowel pins, roll pins and bolts serve to positively locate and fasten the gripper to the adjacent bracket in a positive and precise manner in the X, Y and Z directional axes. In one traditional arrangement, a pair of solid dowel pins are pressfit into a bracket and powered gripper, with the dowel pins being diagonally located relative to each other. In this device, a pair of mounting screws are also diagonally located relative to each other for securing the powered gripper to the mounting bracket. However, the dowel pins and screws are positioned to define a square pattern. The dowel pins and screws do not allow for angular realignment between the gripper and bracket.
Notwithstanding, it is common for the workpiece to be mislocated by as much as 15 angular minutes prior to being clamped by the gripper; this mislocation can be significant for a large part, such as a sheet metal automotive vehicle body panel. This can lead to subsequent gripping misalignment and undesired process variations. The conventional manner for readjusting the gripper to account for part misalignment is to insert multiple shims or wedges to angularly move the bracket along the X (vertical) and Y (horizontal in-out) planes. Thus, gripper to bracket setup and maintenance are often time-consuming, expensive and relatively crude.
In accordance with the present invention, a preferred embodiment of a tool adjustment system includes a first body, a second body and adjustable locating member. The member is rotatably affixed to the first body and allowed to rotate in the second body during angular adjustment of the bodies relative to each other. In another aspect of the present invention, a pin longitudinally projects in an offset manner from a generally smooth intermediate section of a rotatable adjustment member. In still another aspect of the present invention, a plug is inserted into the rotatable adjustment member so as to expand and deter further rotation of the rotatable adjustment member and a tool body relative to a mounting member. In yet another aspect of the present invention, an adjustment tool and a locking tool serve to rotate the rotatable adjustment member in order to adjust the tool body relative to the mounting member and then subsequently maintain the desired adjustment position while locking the rotatable adjustment member to the mounting member.
The adjustable tool mounting system of the present invention is advantageous over conventional devices in that the present invention provides a very refined and precise rotational adjustment of a gripper body relative to a bracket. This accurate adjustment construction allows for quick and precisely maintained positioning of the gripper body, thereby saving the associated setup and maintenance costs while improving repeatable part gripping and subsequent processing. The present invention also allows for use of a rotatable adjustment assembly as a retro-fit kit in existing tool setups. Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.